02-17-2019 - What Happens When the Wicked Get Religion?

2 Chronicles 33:1–20 NLT

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had broken down. He constructed altars for the images of Baal and set up Asherah poles. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them. 4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the Lord had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. 6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own sons in the fire in the valley of Ben-Hinnom. He practiced sorcery, divination, and witchcraft, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger. 7 Manasseh even took a carved idol he had made and set it up in God’s Temple, the very place where God had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. 8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws, decrees, and regulations given through Moses—I will not send them into exile from this land that I set aside for your ancestors.” 9 But Manasseh led the people of Judah and Jerusalem to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land. 10 The Lord spoke to Manasseh and his people, but they ignored all his warnings. 11 So the Lord sent the commanders of the Assyrian armies, and they took Manasseh prisoner. They put a ring through his nose, bound him in bronze chains, and led him away to Babylon. 12 But while in deep distress, Manasseh sought the Lord his God and sincerely humbled himself before the God of his ancestors. 13 And when he prayed, the Lord listened to him and was moved by his request. So the Lord brought Manasseh back to Jerusalem and to his kingdom. Then Manasseh finally realized that the Lord alone is God! 14 After this Manasseh rebuilt the outer wall of the City of David, from west of the Gihon Spring in the Kidron Valley to the Fish Gate, and continuing around the hill of Ophel. He built the wall very high. And he stationed his military officers in all of the fortified towns of Judah. 15 Manasseh also removed the foreign gods and the idol from the Lord’s Temple. He tore down all the altars he had built on the hill where the Temple stood and all the altars that were in Jerusalem, and he dumped them outside the city. 16 Then he restored the altar of the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings and thanksgiving offerings on it. He also encouraged the people of Judah to worship the Lord, the God of Israel. 17 However, the people still sacrificed at the pagan shrines, though only to the Lord their God. 18 The rest of the events of Manasseh’s reign, his prayer to God, and the words the seers spoke to him in the name of the Lord, the God of Israel, are recorded in The Book of the Kings of Israel. 19 Manasseh’s prayer, the account of the way God answered him, and an account of all his sins and unfaithfulness are recorded in The Record of the Seers. It includes a list of the locations where he built pagan shrines and set up Asherah poles and idols before he humbled himself and repented. 20 When Manasseh died, he was buried in his palace. Then his son Amon became the next king.

2 Kings 21:1–18 NLT

1 Manasseh was twelve years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem fifty-five years. His mother was Hephzibah. 2 He did what was evil in the Lord’s sight, following the detestable practices of the pagan nations that the Lord had driven from the land ahead of the Israelites. 3 He rebuilt the pagan shrines his father, Hezekiah, had destroyed. He constructed altars for Baal and set up an Asherah pole, just as King Ahab of Israel had done. He also bowed before all the powers of the heavens and worshiped them. 4 He built pagan altars in the Temple of the Lord, the place where the Lord had said, “My name will remain in Jerusalem forever.” 5 He built these altars for all the powers of the heavens in both courtyards of the Lord’s Temple. 6 Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in the fire. He practiced sorcery and divination, and he consulted with mediums and psychics. He did much that was evil in the Lord’s sight, arousing his anger. 7 Manasseh even made a carved image of Asherah and set it up in the Temple, the very place where the Lord had told David and his son Solomon: “My name will be honored forever in this Temple and in Jerusalem—the city I have chosen from among all the tribes of Israel. 8 If the Israelites will be careful to obey my commands—all the laws my servant Moses gave them—I will not send them into exile from this land that I gave their ancestors.” 9 But the people refused to listen, and Manasseh led them to do even more evil than the pagan nations that the Lord had destroyed when the people of Israel entered the land. 10 Then the Lord said through his servants the prophets: 11 “King Manasseh of Judah has done many detestable things. He is even more wicked than the Amorites, who lived in this land before Israel. He has caused the people of Judah to sin with his idols. 12 So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will bring such disaster on Jerusalem and Judah that the ears of those who hear about it will tingle with horror. 13 I will judge Jerusalem by the same standard I used for Samaria and the same measure I used for the family of Ahab. I will wipe away the people of Jerusalem as one wipes a dish and turns it upside down. 14 Then I will reject even the remnant of my own people who are left, and I will hand them over as plunder for their enemies. 15 For they have done great evil in my sight and have angered me ever since their ancestors came out of Egypt.” 16 Manasseh also murdered many innocent people until Jerusalem was filled from one end to the other with innocent blood. This was in addition to the sin that he caused the people of Judah to commit, leading them to do evil in the Lord’s sight. 17 The rest of the events in Manasseh’s reign and everything he did, including the sins he committed, are recorded in The Book of the History of the Kings of Judah. 18 When Manasseh died, he was buried in the palace garden, the garden of Uzza. Then his son Amon became the next king.

Righteousness is NOT INHERITED (2 Chronicles 33:3)

As Followers of Jesus Christ, we must NEVER give to our Children the PRIVILEGE of Being Called Christian, Holy or Righteous until they have Personally Placed their OWN TRUST in Jesus Christ...

The Shedding of Innocent Blood is NEVER LEFT UNANSWERED BY GOD (2 Kings 21:10-16)

Notice - There were those who Spoke the Truth (2 Chron 33:10 & 33:18) Even in the Face of the Imminent Death - They SPOKE OUTLOUD AGAINST the WICKEDNESS of the KING and his PEOPLE...

In a parallels to the times of Wicked Slaughter of Manassah, King Herod and all who followed similar purges on humanity - our nation is once again under siege by those who advocate the Slaughter of the Innocent - our own Children. From New York, to Vermont, to Illinois and to Virginia this march of the Wicked who want to shed innocent blood begins afresh every political term.

I am personally unconcerned about whether you view abortion as political or call it a personal choice, I am here to go on record to say that it is not about politics or personal choice, but GOOD vs. EVIL, The Upholding of the Sanctity of Life or the Pursuit of the Destruction of the Living...

Deitrick Bonhoeffer, who died a martyr in 1945 was a German Theologian, pastor and authoer… He said:

“Silence in the face of evil is itself evil; God will not hold us guiltless.  Not to speak is to speak.  Not to act, is to act.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945, Theologian, pastor, author, martyr) Houston Chronicle, 11/5/10, p.F6

If you are uncertain about abortion because the Bible is “silent” consider An interesting statement against abortion surrounds the Advent of Christ.  In Luke 1:44, the gospel-writing-physician used the Greek word, brephus, to describe the baby (John the Baptist) who leaped for joy in Elizabeth's womb when Mary shared the news that she was pregnant.  Just one chapter later in Luke 2:12,16, the good doctor uses the same word, brephus, to describe the newborn Savior lying in a manger.  Through the inspiration of Scripture, God has provided another reminder that life in the womb is nothing less than life outside of the womb.

A Sinner in the Hand of THE ANGRY GOD (2 Chronicles 33:9-11)

REPENTANCE Leads to Personal RESTORATION - The Blood of Jesus Covers ALL Sin (2 Chronicles 33:13-19)

What Happens When God Saves the Wicked?

Norma Leah Nelson McCorvey

In 1969, at the age of 21, McCorvey became pregnant a third time and returned to Dallas. According to McCorvey, friends advised her that she should assert falsely that she had been raped and that she could thereby obtain a legal abortion under Texas's law which prohibited abortion; sources differ over whether the Texas law had such a rape exception.[13][14][15] Due to lack of police evidence or documentation, the scheme was not successful and McCorvey would later admit the situation was a fabrication.[16][17] She attempted to obtain an illegal abortion, but the respective clinics had been closed down by authorities.[9]

Eventually, McCorvey was referred to attorneys Linda Coffee and Sarah Weddington,[18][19] who were looking for pregnant women who were seeking abortions. The case took three years of trials to reach the Supreme Court of the United States, and Norma never attended a single trial. In the meantime, she had given birth to the baby in question, who was eventually adopted.[2]

Abortion advocates suffered a setback when Norma McCorvey accepted Christ and recanted her beliefs about abortion.  Ms. McCorvey was "Jane Roe" in the 1973 landmark decision of Roe vs. Wade that legalized abortion.  "I think abortion is wrong.  I think what I did with Roe vs. Wade was wrong and I just have to take a pro-life choice."  She was baptized on August 8, 1995 in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Garland.  Reverend Flip Benham baptized McCorvey not long after leading her to Christ.  Reaching out to those with whom we disagree can transform a life and quite possibly change a culture. McHenry’s Stories for the Soul, 2001, p.4

McCorvey's second book, Won by Love, was published in 1998. She explained her change on the stance of abortion with the following comments:

I was sitting in O.R.'s offices when I noticed a fetal development poster. The progression was so obvious, the eyes were so sweet. It hurt my heart, just looking at them. I ran outside and finally, it dawned on me. 'Norma', I said to myself, 'They're right'. I had worked with pregnant women for years. I had been through three pregnancies and deliveries myself. I should have known. Yet something in that poster made me lose my breath. I kept seeing the picture of that tiny, 10-week-old embryo, and I said to myself, that's a baby! It's as if blinders just fell off my eyes and I suddenly understood the truth—that's a baby! I felt crushed under the truth of this realization. I had to face up to the awful reality. Abortion wasn't about 'products of conception'. It wasn't about 'missed periods'. It was about children being killed in their mother's wombs. All those years I was wrong. Signing that affidavit, I was wrong. Working in an abortion clinic, I was wrong. No more of this first trimester, second trimester, third trimester stuff. Abortion—at any point—was wrong. It was so clear. Painfully clear